As I was writing a comparison of the Sony a7R III and Nikon D850 today, I was suddenly struck by the realization that it might have already happened. I think there are a lot of interesting differences between the two cameras but very few of them have anything to do with the way we’d tend to categorize them.

With this in mind, my gear of the year is the Sony NP-FZ100. Or, to those of you not obsessed with product codes, the a9 and a7R III’s battery. The simple reason for this is the role it plays in rendering the difference between mirror-less and mirror-full cameras moot.

Good enough: the threshold beyond which any further excess is superfluous

It all comes down to the idea of ‘good enough.’ And please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not talking about accepting the mediocre or tolerating the barely sufficient. Instead I’m referring to the threshold beyond which any further excess is, if not excessive, then at least superfluous: it offers no practical benefit.

Once I have enough battery life to get me through a demanding day of shooting, then any extra left in the tank is all very nice, but not exactly necessary. I recently spent a morning shooting both stills and video of a cyclocross race with the a7R III. Shooting a mixture of JPEGs, uncompressed Raws and 4K video, I comfortably churned out more than the 64GB capacity of my memory card and had to switch to a second. What I didn’t come close to doing was running the battery out. At the end of the racing, I still had more than 27% charge left, despite the sub-10°C temperatures.

The move to the 'Z-Type' battery on the right is the difference between me having to worry about charging and carrying spare batteries and me never having to think about it.

This suddenly eliminates the constant battery anxiety I’ve always felt with previous Sony mirrorless cameras (and that's without including the RX1R II, an otherwise fabulous camera whose butterfly-like lifespan prompts even its proponents joke “it’s like shooting film: you need to think about what you’re going to do with your 36 exposures”). Because when I’m shooting, I don’t ever want to be worrying about whether I’ve brought enough batteries, and which ones are charged. I don’t even want to have to think about it.

In fairness Panasonic got here first, having put a big battery in its GH models as far back as the GH3, but I didn't notice it to the same extent because I was primarily shooting video with those models.

This eliminates the constant battery anxiety I’ve previously felt with many mirrorless cameras

More demanding shooters, be they photojournalists or longer-form filmmakers, can always attach a battery grip for longer duration, but for me, the FZ100 means the a7R III is able to surpass my ‘good enough’ threshold. So, while the D850 can boast a very impressive 1840 shots per charge, for me and my photography, that’s well into the territory of overkill.

So, as a technology that allows mirrorless cameras (hopefully of all brands) to offer the same practical benefits as their DSLR rivals, my gear of the year is a battery. Because it makes the a9 and a7R III into significantly better cameras, not just because it pulls another leg out from under all those tired ‘mirrorless vs DSLR’ arguments.

Comments

I've never had the 'battery anxiety' with my 6x9 Fuji GW 690 III - it doesn't have any battery at all! According to the statement this must be a pretty future oriented camera, even better than any CaNiSoPaOly.

Actually the power consumption of A7RIII is 20% higher than A7RII. With the new battery it's not a big problem, but if they keep using FW50 for A7RIII, the battery life will drop to an unacceptably low level: 240(EVF)/280(LCD).

So, this new battery is indeed important for Sony's new mirrorless cameras. It allows Sony to boost up the power consumption for higher image quality and better performance.

Wait to hear more A7r III owners experiences of this battery. But the same battery in A9 could easily take more than 2000 photos with e-shutter, not only more powerful battery but the stacked-sensor design also greatly improve efficiency of power consumption. I have read bunch of A9 owners claimed they took even more than 4000 photos in a single battery. I will know myself when I shoot airshow photos next year.

Shot count is kind of irrelevant for this kind of camera, you can leave it on for 2-3 hours and take 2,000 shots or 200, the battery will still last roughly just as long +/- a few minutes. CIPA really ought to devise a new uptime test, it would clear up some confusion, just keep both the shot count and uptime metrics around for now.

I do think battery life is important. My first digital camera, the Sony F505V, had a battery life of one hour and it gave me a reflex action of: take photo; immediately turn camera off. Even today I still have to fight this reflex, so it's a good thing that cameras today turn on extremely quickly.

It's good that the new battery has extended the shooting time of the Sony cameras, but I don't think that they quite good enough yet. Richard did say he wants enough charge to get through a demanding day of shooting: it's a good thing that the racing he covered didn't have an afternoon session.

This was a "must", so it cannot be the gear of the year. Sony fixed a problem which DSLRs haven't had last 10 years (or more).This is like saying "focus joystick is gear of the year because Sony has it on A9 and A7RIII". Canon has had that since 10D or 20D?

You don't understand. Making large batteries is easy. This battery has 2.2x the capacity of the earlier battery but it's barely bigger than the old one. This is miniaturisation done right. The Sony A9 is still much smaller than the any comparable DSLR.

This battery just closes the gap, that's why it doesn't deserve to be the equipment/gear of the year.It is like the second card slot: It is almost a must among professional cameras so A9 or A7RIII having a second card slot is not a great revelation or advance, it is a "fix" of a problem.If mandatory fixes will be considered to be gear of the year :)That's my idea, obviously yours are different.

Ehh, a lot of mirror less cameras achieved this level of battery life earlier, granted none FF and as advanced as the A7R III but still... I'm hardly one to cry about brand biases (I think you do a fair and balanced job in general FWIW) but praising Sony for catching up with other mirrorless players in this regard or simply addressing what was an obvious flaw in their lineup seems a little unnecessary.

This was one of the first mirrorless cameras I've used where I've not ever had to think about batteries (which, in hindsight, is a bit unfair on the Panasonic GHs, which I've tended to use for video and therefore be more demanding of).

I chose this because I thought it would be something that would become more prevalent across all mirrorless cameras, not because I think it's something magical that Sony specifically has achieved. That said, it is all the more noticeable because Sony (along with Canon's mirrorless models) have been so poor in terms of battery life before.

This is just so funny. A battery? For gear of the year? What were you thinking. You will have to spin and defend this choice for a long time, dear friend. Although I feel like the kid who got coal for Christmas, I’m enjoying the comments, and your attempts at explaining what is clearly a boneheaded choice, especially in a forum dedicated to people who love gear perhaps more than photography, the art.

IBIS doesn't actually have a huge impact on battery life, very little does when it comes to mirrorless actually (it's been tested). The biggest battery drain by several orders of magnitude is the mere act of having the sensor supplying a constant data feed while the camera is on and the screens (rear + EVF) hogging their fair share of power.

Granted a FF sensor and the inherent increase in data that goes with it does signify a larger drain... But that doesn't change the fact that all other mirrorless players recognized the need for larger batteries in their ToTL bodies well before Sony did. The battery for the A7 line was under spec'd from the start and they always had below average battery life regardless of sensor size.

Although we've often given them credit for being a decent size, I don't think I'd really noticed how good the GH's batteries have been, simply because I primarily used those cameras for video, and hence was more demanding on the batteries.

My thinking was that I was writing about a battery (that happened to fit in a Sony), not choosing it because it was a Sony.

Naturally I understand that. Just giving some thought process that went into not upgrading immediately. End of next year, it might be a different story. In the meantime, I can have all day battery if I want, and swapping batteries once is not very hard, what with the opposable thumb and such.

When mirrorless cameras are very small [the late, lamented GM line comes to mind] it's fairly understandable the power cells used need to be diminutive too. Once larger, more pro-orientated mirrorless cameras came to market, I always thought it was slightly insane to persist with lower capacity units. Sony did it with much of the A7 line, Olympus did it with the original EM1.

Panasonic were the first to close what was an unnecessary magnification of an all-electric camera's disadvantage in power usage to one that has power-free VFs. Since the GH3, the cell in Panasonic's flagships have hit that 'good enough' threshold. Now they've integrated an LCD into the G9 I would expect even more longevity while still being able to check important settings without worry.

So it's not like this is some huge technological [recent] innovation. It was just bad basic design. I find it quite difficult to get too excited when someone corrects a fairly basic oversight, much as I agree with the outcome.

Look at the size of the GH3. It's bigger than the A7R III, with a sensor 1/4 the size. I'd hope they'd have room for a bigger battery. And the G9 is bigger yet! Olympus is the company that did it right first, not Panasonic. That's like praising an SUV for having a bigger gas tank than a sports car.

And the A7R III is bigger than the II, etc etc. None of these bigger batteries come as a free lunch... Some might be making slightly better use of the available space or opting for deeper grips with thinner bodies or a different balance of body size to battery size; but none of them are doing anything magic or innovative with regards to battery capacities, much less shipping hollow bodies or something like that.

If anything, Panasonic was A) one of the first mirrorless players to recognize that some of it's buyers don't put camera size above all else regardless of sensor size (which still has a huge impact on lens size regardless of the body mind you) and is B) one of the few that might actually debut new battery tech at some point since they're a major OEM of all kinds of batteries for all kinds of companies.

Panasonics also makes *the* smallest M4/3 bodies by far FWIW, so they fully recognize different consumers' needs (I own one such body and not a GH, and a larger Olympus).

Although I agree with your comments, IMO, the battery "problem" was overstated as 1-2 spare batteries could easily go in your pocket and a battery change can be done in less than 10-15 seconds... :)Do I prefer the «NP-FZ100»? - Yes, of course, but the old «NP-FW50» was less cumbersome - and the same applies to its charger - than the "new" modell and for most of my work - I'm an amateur - 1-2 batteries were more than enough for a traveler/user "busy" day! ;)...Many seem to have forgotten the old film days, or maybe, never used it!? :)

Ehh, I agree it was somewhat overblown for mirrorless in general, tho the A7 line's battery life was kinda under average for mirrorless bodies of the size/class they're in... And for people used to leaving their DSLR on all day long it required a shift in habits, as even two batteries wouldn't get you thru a particularly long day if your did that (tho they should if you turn the camera off judiciously).

I think CIPA is as much to blame for all this as anyone... They keep pushing shot count as their battery metric even tho for mirrorless AND compacts it's really more about uptime than shot count, the latter being kind of irrelevant.

I can appreciate those who say the issue is overblown. OTOH, batteries have become a general point of pain in my life -- I'm regularly charging my camera, smartphone, smartwatch, bluetooth headphones, bluetooth gym headphones, laptop, tablet, and sooner or later I'll probably buy an electric car and be busy charging that too. And this is letting along the inevitable issue of 'what will I have to do when each of these batteries starts dying'.

So I do look forward to a day when I don't have to think about batteries so much and, thus, have a strong positive reaction to anyone putting the spotlight on improving battery tech.

There's third party chargers like that for a lot of brands (I've got em for both my Oly and Pana bodies), almost as good as having in-cameras USB charging... Sometimes it's better even, like when charging in the car; tho for the purpose of doing it inside a bag in-camera charging is somewhat more convenient (less to carry and futz with).

The best of all worlds would be to have all available options (in camera, USB charger, and regular AC charger) so one can pick and choose as needed. I still travel with one of my two AC chargers (for 2 different bodies) along with the couple of USB chargers, cause the former is easier to hang off any random outlet without a cord or place to rest it.

Oh, I am the first to comment, how cool. This morning this was my exact feeling, after using my A9 on a single battery for a week or so, I can say, I fully understand your choice. Originally, I was quite suspicious to handle another kind of battery. I hate what Nikon does, for each and every camera they invent a new battery.

Nikon had to introduce a new battery with the Nikon D7000 because of regulatory changes, I believe. But since then, it's been very stable. The battery in my Nikon D7000, a camera introduced in 2010 can still be used in any of the later D7x00 models including the D7500 introduced this year (2017), seven years later.

And that battery is usable in the Nikon 1 V series, D500, D6x0 series, D750 and the D8x0 series of cameras.

I am currently sharing batteries between my D7000 and D750.

And the battery in my Nikon D5100, can be used in any of the later D5x00 models as well as the Nikon Df.

The other 2 batteries from Nikon are the smaller battery that is in the Nikon 1 S series of cameras and the bigger battery in the Nikon D5.

Have you ever tried the other Nikon cameras? Three years ago I had four Nikon cameras two from the Nikon 1 line and two DSLRs, all the four had totally different batteries. It's nice that Nikon now has cameras that use the same batteries. Maybe my case was special, and I was simply unlucky.Nikon V1 EL15, J5 EL24, Df EL14, D4 EL18 :-)

Not really as for Sony. Only this year's cameras the A9 and A7R3 have this new FZ battery, all other E-mount cameras including the NEX and RX10 used the exact same battery. I wonder, if this new Z battery goes down into the new models from the APS-C line?Please pardon me sincerely, please, I really didn't want to hurt your feelings, not before Xmas anyway, half of my heart was for Nikon and I fully understand you are very sensitive.

It was really long time ago, but I would have been very happy to have the same EL15 battery in all Nikon's. The V1 had it, my first beloved camera, I enormously loved it. When I bought the J5 it was shocking to see that it uses a different battery; Thereafter, this happened again, when I borrowed the D4 from a friend, and then the Df; why the hell the Df didn't have either the EL15 or EL18? What can I say? So I get rid of all my Nikons and went for Sony for the unique battery line. My message, I am getting rid of all non-Z-battery cameras and I'll pick new ones for my two Z batteries.

I've been happy with the consistency of the battery line from Nikon. From the Nikon D100, a camera from 2002 to my current cameras, I've only had to change batteries once. One change in 15 years. :) And Nikon was forced to do it to meet new regulation requirements. :)

That, to me, is a pretty good record.

As for the Df. That thought has crossed my mind. But I think a case can be made either way. The Df, really is a camera designed to be used with manual focus lenses. Manual focus lenses take less power to operate. So . . . the Df doesn't really need as much power as, let's say . . . a D610 or D750. So, do you build a bigger camera to take the bigger battery that it doesn't need, or do you let the camera be smaller?

At least they used an existing battery rather than introduce a new battery just for the Df. :)

Just to be a little pedantic, there are essentially two versions of the Nikon EN-EL15 battery, the older of which essentially don't work in the D500 and D7500 (they work but drain extremely quickly).

Nikon appears to have made the difference explicit by changing the case colour and re-naming the newer type 'EN-EL15a,' but although they work to a degree, it's not quite true to say that Nikon has used the same battery from D7000 onwards.

RE: "Just to be a little pedantic, there are essentially two versions of the Nikon EN-EL15 battery, the older of which essentially don't work in the D500 and D7500 (they work but drain extremely quickly)."

Yeah. I guess I was trying not to be too, too pedantic! LOL.

Seeing as the new version can work in the old cameras all the way back to the D7000.

And if you had the old version, but then bought a D500, Nikon was willing to swap your old batteries for the new.

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